973.7L63    Hertz,  Emanuel 
GHUUawi        Abraham  Lincoln  with  the 
immortals . 


LINCOLN  ROOM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 
WITH  THE  IMMORTALS 


By 
EMANUEL  HERTZ 


Delivered  over  WGL,  February  12,   1928 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnwiOOhert 


ABRAHAMLINCOLN:  WITH  THE  IMMORTALS 

By  EMANUEL  HERTZ 

ITT  has  become  a  custom  hallowed  by  the  ages  to  recall  an- 
•"-  nually  the  memories  and  performances  of  those  who  de- 
parted. Fervent  and  intense  as  is  the  observance  at  first,  it 
gradually  mellows  and  becomes  more  formal  and  frequently  the 
anniversary  becomes  a  biennial  event  and  then  a  quinquennial, 
then  a  centennial  memorial  frequently  remembered  only — rather 
than  formally  observed.  The  vast  majority  of  these  terminate 
within  a  short  period,  for  only  the  closest  family  ties  keep  us 
concerned  about  those  departed.  Have  we  not  seen  it  all  in 
our  own  day — how  short-lived  and  baseless  is  temporary  fame? 
The  hero  of  today — whom  we  greet  with  triumphal  arches  and 
hosannahs — who  is  greeted  by  rulers  and  people  alike — is  barely 
remembered  twenty  years  later.  Witness  the  late  Admiral 
Dewey — upon  whom  the  honors  of  a  hundred  million  people 
were  so  unstintingly  showered.  How  many  recall  that  gigantic 
universal  outpouring  of  praise  and  pomp  and  popular  acclaim 
today  ?  McKinley — as  lovable  a  soul  as  ever  lived — universally 
beloved  in  his  day — is  rarely,  if  ever,  referred  to.  A  statue 
here  and  there— perhaps  three  in  all — certainly  not  more — mark 
all  that  was  earthly  of.  that  simple  soldier  boy — in  Phik  Sheri- 
dan's regiments — who  was  raised  to  the  highest  post  in  the  land. 
Who  remembers  three  generals  in  the  Great  World  War  of 
ten  years  ago? 

We  must,  therefore,  conclude  that  nothing  short  of  lasting 
performance,  nothing  less  than  what  benefits  the  race,  only  an 
unselfish  performance  coupled  with  the  greatest  sacrifice  which 
changes  the  course  of  an  entire  race,  frees  a  people  from  bond- 
age, and  implants  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  follow,  an 
eternal   elemental  principle   which   up   to   that   day  was   either 

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unknown  or  unrecognized,  and  which  does  not  change  with  the 
tides,  nor  with  the  progress  of  the  suns — only  such  an  in- 
dividual, whoever  he  be,  wherever  he  comes  from — only  such 
an  one  cannot  and  will  not  be  forgotten. 

And  when  one  such  is  found,  human  nature  veers  com- 
pletely the  other  way.  No  lip  worshhip  only,  no  formal 
memorial  will  do.  We  go  the  whole  length  of  the  gamut  of 
human  gratitude  and  love  and  set  apart  an  entire  day — an  en- 
tire day  in  the  United  States  of  complete  rest,  of  complete  in- 
activity, of  shutting  down  the  myriads  of  human  endeavors  and 
occupations  on  the  farm,  in  the  mine,  in  the  counting  house,  in 
the  courts,  in  the  schools — all  given  over  and  dedicated  to  the 
memory  of  Lincoln — indeed  a  gigantic  sacrifice  running  into 
many  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars — counting  time  and  effort 
suspended  and  money  expended  and  lovingly  forgone — in  order 
to  celebrate  this  natal  day  of  him  who — like  Elijah  of  old — 
breathed  the  spirit  of  life  into  an  expiring  Union.  An  entire 
day — not  only  to  remember,  to  recount,  but  to  contemplate  and 
study  the  life  and  character  of  him  who  has  thus  become  dis- 
tinguished. First  one  State,  Massachusetts,  twenty  years  ago, 
then  another,  and  then  President  Roosevelt,  nineteen  years  ago, 
asked  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  declare  Lincoln's 
birthday — a  special  holiday. 

And  now  there  have  sprung  up  all  over  this  land  Lincoln 
organizations,  who  follow  annually  a  program  which  has  for  its 
sole  object  to  bring  before  and  explain  to  the  people  of  his  Union 
— young  and  old — the  great  services  rendered  by  him  to  make 
his  Union  free  and  mighty  and  respected  by  all  the  nations  of 
the  world — because  he  made  it  an  emblem  of  righteousness,  an 
example  of  brotherly  love,  a  people  loving  and  pursuing  justice. 
His  heritage  of  unselfish  advice  to  the  plain  people — and  he 
concerned  himself  mostly  with  those  only — because  the  vast 
majority  of  his  fellow-countrymen  were  plain  people,  is  now 
and  has  for  the  last  seventy  years  been  slowly  absorbed.     His 


appeals  in  his  own  day  seemed  to  reach  those  common  people — 
they  understood  Father  Abraham — whether  it  be  the  starving., 
dole  receiving  cotton  spinners  of  Manchester,  England — 
crippled  by  the  blockade,  which  prevented  the  exporting  of  cot- 
ton— or  the  plain  people  in  the  marshes  at  Shilo,  at  Vicksburg 
or  in  the  Wilderness — they  all  understood  him — and  went 
straight  into  the  shadow  of  the  valley  of  death — because  he 
asked  it.  The  so-called  leaders  could  not  respond  so  quickly. 
How  could  you  expect  the  Cabots,  the  Adamses,  the  Sumners, 
the  Seward's,  the  Chases,  the  Lees,  the  Davises,  the  Longstreets, 
the  Beauregards  and  the  rest  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  North, 
as  well  as  of  the  South,  to  stoop  or  rather  look  up  to — for  like 
Saul  he  towered  over  all — this  crude  frontier  giant,  who  would 
talk  in  the  patois  of  the  frontier,  who  like  Aesop  of  old  would 
draw  his  similies  from  the  farm  and  from  nature,  and  who  had 
as  much  regard  for  the  art  in  clothes  or  the  habiliments  of  the 
boudoir  as  did  Socrates, — as  he  walked  with  his  disciples  in  his 
Athenian  groves. 

Somehow  or  other  these  few  human  intellectual  giants  have 
a  vision  of  their  own — they  see  through  k  all — no  phrase,  no 
adornment,  no  veil,  no  hue,  no  color — conceals  the  great  heart, 
the  great  soul,  which  burns  like  a  perpetual  fire — now  and  for- 
ever. Unconsciously,  perhaps,  Lincoln  ignored  all  these  super- 
ficialities— suffered  from  all  these  social  disadvantages  so-called, 
and  concerned  himself  with  eternal  things  only.  He  may  have 
even  used  some  of  these  social  leaders — for  he  needed  manni- 
kins  in  the  diplomatic  service — he  needed  social  secretaries — he 
needed  intermediaries  with  these  recalcitrant  Governors  and 
unreasonable  Senators,  with  these  pompous  and  strutting 
would-be  saviours  of  the  nation,  who  simply  did  not  compre- 
hend him  or  the  problems  with  which  he  was  coping.  Today 
he  was  perfectly  willing  to  give  up  his  task  to  anyone  who 
would  appear  to  be  able  to  do  better  than  he — the  next  day  he 
actually  convinced  the  two  or  three  other  men  in  the  country — 
who  seemed  to  understand  the  enormous  task,  but  actually  tried 


to  sidestep  it — or  to  sacrifice  the  Union  in  carrying  out  their 
theory  as  to  slavery — that  to  do  what  they  advocated  was 
treason  if  not  madness  outright; — and  then  when  he  had  ar- 
ranged the  fighting  forces,  his  diplomatic  forces,  his  legislative 
forces,  his  State  leaders  and  his  spiritual  leaders,  into  some 
semblance  of  team  work — he  was  forced  to  combat  the  entire 
Democratic  party  who  had  actually  succeeded  in  organizing 
itself  in  the  North  under  the  sinister  influences  of  Vallading- 
ham,  Pendleton  and  Seymour  in  opposition  to  his  struggle  for 
the  Union — and  urged  cessation  of  hostilities  at  any  price  and 
negotiation  for  peace  with  the  Confederacy  in  1864  at  any  cost 
— the  very  thing  he  prevented  England  and  France  and  other 
European  powers  from  inaugurating  two  years  before.  But  in 
time  they  simply  withered  before  him — the  party  almost  ceased 
to  exist.  Not  one  of  these  time  servers,  not  one  of  these 
political  or  military  leaders  saw  or  wanted  to  see  or  hear  his 
mellow  reasoning  or  his  well  considered  program.  Resignations 
from  high  officials  were  either  threatened  or  requested — for 
Lincoln  could  not  forever  be  trifled  with — Chase  ascertained 
that  to  his  complete  discomfiture.  Washington  was  a  treason- 
infested  town — and  the  miracle  of  it  all  was  that  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  one  man  who  stood  between  the  living  and  the  dead 
—was  so  long  deferred. 

Little  wonder,  then,  that  those  who  lived  to  see  what  he  had 
accomplished  turned  an  intellectual  somersault  and  from  sus- 
picion turned  to  trust,  from  carping  heartless  criticism,  to  im- 
measurable love  and  praise  and  appreciation  and  trust.  He 
had  made  it  clear,  at  last,  that  Lincoln  had  a  policy,  that  Lin- 
coln was  honest,  that  Lincoln  was  capable,  that  Lincoln  was 
unselfish,  that  Lincoln  was  trustworthy,  that  Lincoln  was  a 
statesman,  that  Lincoln  was  a  great  military  leader,  that  Lin- 
coln was  a  diplomat,  that  Lincoln  was  adamant  on  saving  the 
Union,  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  slave  driver,  that  Lincoln  was 
not  a  clown,  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  cruel  conqueror,  that  Lin- 
coln was  not  an  enemy  of  the  South,  that  Lincoln  was  not  pre- 


pared  to  upturn  Southern  society,  that  Lincoln  was  not  against 
peace  on  honorable  terms,  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  candidate  for 
re-election,  that  Lincoln  was  not  here  to  perpetuate  a  military 
.hierarchy  ;  above  all,  that  Lincoln  was  not  afraid,  and  could 
not  be  intimidated  or  turned  from  the  one  true  course  he  had 
outlined  to  himself  when  he  registered  his  oath  in  heaven  to 
preserve  the  Union.  And  now  that  he  was  no  more — all  saw 
•even  more  clearly  how  this  simple  child  of  the  forest  had  been 
selected  by  Providence  to  bridge  the  chasm  between  the  slave 
•and  the  free,  between  a  mobocracy  and  a  democracy,  between 
darkness  and  between  light. 

Of  course,  there  were  those  who  saw  it  not  to  the  very  end — 
nay  to  this  day  there  be  learned  dissenters.  Men  today  demon- 
strate by  quoting  the  unspeakable  Billingsgate  of  Civil  War 
and  Reconstruction  times,  then  voiced  by  the  halt,  the  lame,  the 
sick,  the  envious,  the  mentally  decrepit — that  the  real  Lincoln 
was  not  what  the  people  thought  he  was.  Of  course,  we  are 
not  concerned  with  those— there  be  even  spots  on  the  sun — but 
the  sun  ever  shines,  and  yields  life  and  nourishment  and  health 
and  vigor — and  only  the  lame,  the  halt  and  the  blind  concede  it 
not.  But  they  are  as  ineffective  as  the  fool  who  sayeth  there  is 
no  God,  The  commotion,  the  noise,  the  misleading  rumors,  the 
unholy  slanders,  were  gaining  such  velocity,  such  strength,  were 
voiced  from  so  -many  points  of  vantage,  appeared  and  re- 
appeared in  so  many  disloyal  and  half  loyal  sheets,  that  Lin- 
coln himself  began  to  doubt — not  that  his  cause  was  just — not 
that  his  was  the  only  course  to  pursue — but  he  began  to  doubt 
whether  the  people,  his  people,  would  continue  to  stand  by  him 
or  whether  the  siren  sounds  of  peace,  of  a  disgraceful  peace, 
of  a  perverted  peace — would  not  finally  become  so  effective  as 
to  distract  the  attention  of  his  followers  and  finally  defeat  him 
at  the  polls,  at  a  time  when  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  of  vic- 
tory and  of  peace  with  honor,  were  becoming  visible  on  the 
horizon. 


And  at  one  time,  and  only  one  time,  he  said :  "It  is  my  be- 
lief that  from  present  indications,  the  Administration  will  be 
defeated  at  the  polls  at  the  next  Election."  But  lie  had  hardly 
spoken  these  words — when  things  began  to  happen.  Grant  re- 
generated the  army  and  it  began  to  hammer  away  at  Lee's  army 
and  the  process  of  attrition  was  on.  Sherman  began  to  destroy 
the  heart  of  the  Confederacy — Sheridan  destroyed  its  source  o£ 
supplies;  Thomas  (a  Northern  Robert  E.  Lee)  gave  the  death 
blow  to  the  Confederacy — when  he  wiped  out  its  army  within 
its  borders  and  helped  to  isolate  Lee.  Farragut  at  Mobile  and 
the  blockade  along  the  entire  coast — and  the  Election  in 
November  was  as  overwhelming  as  was  the  work  of  the  army 
and  of  the  navy.  The  people  had  overwhelmingly  spoken  again 
for  Abraham  Lincoln..  The  prophets  of  evil,  the  soothsayers  in 
the  North  were  indeed  as  effective  as  the  fool  who  sayeth  there 
is  no  God. 

But  the  common  people,  the  plain  people,  the  poor  people, 
Lincoln's  people,  Lincoln's  neighbors,  Lincoln's  soldiers,  Lin- 
coln's sailors,  Lincoln's  clients — an  entire  nation  of  clients  saw 
it  all — not  only  at  the  end  when  even  Chase  and  Andrew  and 
Reverdy  Johnson  and  Henry  Winter  Davis  began  to  concede 
and  to  comprehend — they  saw  in  the  beginning — God  Almighty 
had  opened  their  eyes  and  they  beheld  Lincoln  and  Douglas 
arguing  and  debating  whether  a  house  divided  against  itself 
could  stand.  Douglas  wanting  the  Senatorship  said  it  could; 
Lincoln,  however,  cared  not  for  the  Senatorship  and  actually 
lost  it  when  he  said,  so  that  an  entire  world  could  hear:  "A 
house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand," — and  won  the 
Presidency.  I  know  of  no  better  example  or  anecdote  which 
better  describes  that  great  event — the  dramatic  election  of  1860 
— than  the  quotation  from  Major  H.  C.  Whitney,  in  concluding 
his  great  work — "Lincoln  on  the  Circuit" : 

Major  Henry  C  Whitney  in  concluding  one  of  the  few  real 
works  on  Lincoln  tells  the  following  illuminating  anecdote : 

10 


The  story  is  somewhere  told,  that,  tewnty-five  centuries  ago, 
the  citizens  of  Mitylene  resolved  to  erect  a  statue  of  Jupiter, 
Father  of  Gods  and  Men,  in  front  of  that  masterpiece  of  archi- 
tecture, the  great  theatre:  and  that  they  invited  a  display  of 
.■statutes  of  the  mythological  god,  from  which  to  choose  one, 
adequate. 

Upon  the  day  of  choice,  the  citizens  of  the  Lesbian  Isle 
'crowded  into  the  plaza,  there  to  behold  two  draped  figures 
which  were  to  compete  for  the  honor  of  saluting  the  sun,  as  it 
arose  from  the  Mediterranean,  for  hundreds  of  slowly  revolv- 
ing years. 

The  draperies  fell  apart,  and  revealed  a  figure  of  classical 
beauty — the  perfection  of  symmetry — a  paragon  of  sculpture — 
a  miracle  of  art — an  image  in  which  glorious  life  had  been 
arrested  at  its  highest  tide — a  fit  marble  ideal  of  the  presiding 
divinity  in  the  assemblage  of  the  Gods  \ 

Also  a  rough  effigy  of  a  human  figure — -no  majesty  in  its 
lineaments — no  grace  in  its  pose — apparently  no  art  in  its 
execution — no  harmony  in  its  relations — no  dignity  in  its 
bearing : 

"Tetrum  ante  omnia  vulturn." 

The  popular  verdict  was  prompt — one  mighty  shout  should 
rent  the  air : — "Here  is  our  Jupiter-!" — was  the  universal 
acclaim,  all  pointing  to  the  masterpiece  of  scultpure;  "to  the  sea 
ivith  the  base  imposture" ;  designating  the  inglorious  statue. 

But  the  poet  Alcaeus  arrested  the  fierce  outcry:  "Men  and 
brethren,"  exclaimed  he,  "I  crave  one  further  test  of  judgment : 
let  but  the  applauded  and  the  condemned  statues,  each,  be 
elevated  to  the  height  of  the  shaft  where  the  chosen  one  is  to 
find  its  long  repose,  before  we  judge  conclusively." 

To  this  fair  proposal,  assent  was  finally  made;  and  on  the 
designated  day,  the  same  eager  throng  filled  the  great  space 
which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  final  judgment. 

The  two  draped  figures  were  poised  in  mid-air.     The  drap* 

11 


eries  were  unloosed,  and  the  two  competitors  stood  out  in  boldi 
relief  against  the  pure  azure  sky. 

But  mark  the  change !  the  favorite  had  been  transformed  by 
the  intervening  distance.  The  classical  features — the  sparkling, 
eye — the  luminous  countenance,  had  vanished :  but,  a  greater 
transformation  had  been  wrought  in  the  other  figure,  by  dis- 
tance, the  arch-enchanter. 

Life  had  been  impressed  upon  those  hitherto  ungainly  fea- 
tures— majesty  sat  enthroned  upon  those  rugged  lineaments — 
the  eyes  gleamed  with-  the  Ere  of  genius ; 

*     *     *     deep  on  his  front  engraven 
Deliberation  sat,  and  public  care; 
and  a  God  stood  outlined,  in  classical  marble,  to  the  view. 

A  cry  went  up,  drowning  the  sound  of  the  waves  that  broke 
on  the  Lesbian  shore:  "Here  is,  indeed,  a  God!  this  is  worthy 
to     preside    at     the     council     of     the    Immortals  I       This    is 

jupiter  r 

In  the  year  of  destiny — 1860 — our  people,  moved  by  Fatev 
met  to  select  a  Jupiter  Tonans,  to  preside  over  councils  much 
more  majestic  than  the  fabled  assemblages  of  Mount  Olympus; 
councils  involving  the  destiny  of  the  human  race. 

The  competition  which  ensued  and  its  result,  are  indited  on 
the  most  familiar  pages  of  recent  history;  and  the  statue  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  reproduced  ad  infinitum  in  bronze, 
granite  and  marble,  and  enshrined  in  all  patriotic  hearts,  will 
remain  the  great  central  figure  of  humanity  and  unselfish 
patriotism  as  long  as  civilization  shall  hold  sway. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

9737L63GH44AWI  C001 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  WITH  THE  IMMORTALS  NY 


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